Pressure cooker



Oct. 2l, 1952 W. A, WELDEN 2,614,726

PRESSURE COOKER Filed Feb. 19, 1947 Patented Oct. 21, `1952 .UMTED STATE PRESSURE COOKER William A. Weldon, Stamford, Conn., assigner to Revere Copper and Brass- Incorporated Rome, N..Y.,a.corporation of Maryland v y pplicationjFebruary 19, 1947, ySerial No. 729,443

. My invention relates to pressure. cookers.

The-invention, which has. among. its; objects. the provision of a pressure cooker having an improved pressure relief valve and an improved combined pressure relief' valve and. pressure indicating gauge; will be best understood from the, following 'description of several specic; embodimentsof the invention selected. for illustrative. purposes, while the scope. of. the. invention. will. be more` particularly pointed. out in the .appended-claims.

Inythe; drawings Fig.. 1 is: a side elevation of a.- pressure cooker according to the. invention, with. parts in section.; Fig... 2 isa plan: view.. on. an.` enlarged scale, .of the combined pressure reliefweight valve .and pressure. indicating; gauge according to Fig. 1.;

, Fig... 3y is a; side elevation.. on` an enlarged. scale, withparts in section. of the combined. pressure relief weight valve and pressurey indicating gauge, anda fragmentof the cover, accordingl to Figs. 1 and ,2, corresponding,` toa section on the line 3.-.-3 of Fig. 2; l

Fig. 4 isa side elevation of the'parts shown. by

Fig. 3, with parts in section on the line-y 4-4. ofy the latter;

l ig. 5 isa, bottom view `of the assemblyL Show-n b-y'Fig. 3,. with parts omitted;y f f Fig.. 6 is a plan of the val-ve seat membergaccording to. Figs. 3, lland 5; "Fig. 7. is an elevation of. the. valve-part accord.-

ing to Fig. 3; I v Fig. 8 .is a bottom end View of thevalvepart according to Fig. 3; and

Figs. 9 fand 10 are, respectively, fragmentary sections corresponding to Fig. 3, showing diierent modified forms of the valve. part. l

Referring/to. the drawings,` the pressure cooker illustrated, except for the combined weight .valve and gauge, is identical with one illustratedand describedl in applicants copending application Serial Number 695,128.2, filed September 6.,. 194.6,

and therefore need not bedescribed withr any 2V Claims'. ((11.220--44-2l vwardly turned lip' I3 at they QpDOSle Side Qf: the. 'container brim, the lip I3 for this purpose cooperating with ahook I5 rigidly carriedby the handle extensionv 9, while the joint between the cover and container is vpacked by a yieldable gasket I6 carried by the cover. The lipv ILextends through approximately 180v degrees of the angular extent of the container brim,l while the lip I3 and hook I5r are relatively narrow,v being approximately the width of the handle extension 9.- Thecover is secured to the. container by insertingv its edge under the lip II withv the two handle extensions out ofy alignment, and then rotating the cover relative. to the lcontainer' vto cause the hook I5. to move into operative relation with the lip I3, under which conditions the two handle extensions will be in alignment. The construction' described is identical with n that described in the` above mentioned copending application. y l u I n As illustrated, the pressure. cooker cover` adjacent its center portion is formed with. a cylindrical opening I1. Restingv on the. upper portion of the cover is a valve seat member comprising a. cylindrical shank I9 having. atits upper .end a. head 20 formed with a lateral extension 2 I. The shank 24, or are otherwise undercut, for removably retaining the washer in the recess. A wingnut 25. screw-threaded on. the lower end of the shank moreparticularity than. necessary to describe the l present (invention. i

temer I having a closedbottomv .3 and an. open top, in which top is adapted to be removably received a metallic cover 5. Carried by the container is a laterally extending metallic handle Th pressure cooker; comprises a metallic; con- I9 serves to clamp the valve seatmember to the cover, the gasket washer 23 rendering steam tight the joint between the two latter. As shown, the shank I9 ofthe-valve, seat. mem# ber is provided with an axial. -through passage 2.1 of circular'crossfsection opening on theupper side of that member, which passage serves as a vent forv the. cooker. The upper end of thisxpasf sage is countersunk to form an upwardly and lat.- erally facing internal frusta-conical valve seat 29. If, desired, the portion of the valve seat: member onwhich the valve -seat is formed may consist of a sleeve 3|., of rubber or other yieldable ma'- terial, inserted in and tightly ntting an enlarged diameter portion 3:3 ofthe passage 2-1 .at-its'upperend. As shown, the'sde walls of Vthis'enlarged portion of the passage are upwardly and inwardlyy tapered so as vto insure vvagainstblowing the sleeve is sprung into said portion. Preferably the shank I9 has a reduced diameter extension 35 at its lower end provided with cross slots 31 for the purpose of insuring against cloggingof the vent passage by leaf-like vegetables or the like in the cooker.

For controlling relief of pressure iiuid from the container through the vent passage 2l is provided a vertically movable weight valve, this Weight valve including a. pressure gauge for indicating the pressure within the cooker. Asshown, the Weight valve comprises an outer casing having a bottom wall 39 carrying a valve parte() having the frusto-conical end 4I adapted to seat on the valve seat 29. This outer casing also comprises an upwardly extending annular wall s3 integral with the bottom wall 39. v

The pressure gauge comprises an annular casing 45 closed at its upper end by a crystal el. As shown,fthe crystal rests on a yieldable gasket ring\49 carried by a radially outwardly projecting flange 5I at the upper end of the'casing 45, the outer extremity of this ange being of reduced thickness and turned over, as indicated at 59, to secure the crystal against removal and to hold it in fluid tight contact with the gasket ring 49. Beneath the crystal is a swinging indicator hand 55 moved by the gauge mechanism, this hand cooperating with a graduated dial 5'I secured by screws 59 to supporting lugs 6 I' formed integrally with the casing 45. At its lower end the casing 45 is provided with an internal annular inwardly projecting flange 63 on which rests the peripheral portion of a flexible corregated disk-like metal diaphragm 65, the diaphragm being soldered to the flange, as indicated at 6l, so that the bottom of the casing 45 is hermetically sealed. Secured to the center portion ofthe diaphragm is the end portion of a pin 69 for actuating the internal 'mechanism (not shown) of the gauge for operating the ygauge indicator hand 55. As shown, the outer casing of the weight valve adjacent the periphery of its bottom wall 39 is formed with `an annular groove I Il which receives an'annular yieldable` gasket ring 'I3 on which the flange 53 of" the gauge casing is adapted to rest when the gauge is placed within the outer casing through `the opening presented at the upper portion of the annular wall 43.' As shown, the annular Wall 43 adjacent its bottom portion is 'formediwith internal screw-threads and the gauge casing with exterior cooperating screw-threads, asindicated at l5, for securing lthe two together, the turned overk portion 53 of the gauge casing conveniently being exteriorly knurled, as indicatedrat '11, so` that the gauge may be readily turned to screw the bottom portion thereof firmly against the gasket ring T3. When the parts are in assembled relation a chamber I9 is formed between the diaphragm 65 and the bottom wall 39 of the outer casing. This chamber is placed in communication withvthe vent passage 21 of the valve .seat member by a through passage 8| Yformed in the valve part 40, so that when the latter is seated on the'valve seat 29 the gauge will indicate .the pressure .within the pressure cooker.

. As 'shown in Figs. 3 and 7, the valve part il@l at the base of the frusto-conical portion 4I thereof is provided with an exteriorlyy squared portion 83 for engagement by a wrench or other suitable tool when assembling or` disassembling the valve part'with the outer casing of the combined weight valve and pressure indicator. Contiguous with this squared portionythe valve part is formed with a relatively large diameter circular flange 35 between which and the under surface of the bottom wall 39 of the outer casing of the weight valve is positioned a washer 8l of yieldable material such as rubber. Extending through the washer 87 and a cylindrical opening 89 in the bottom wall 39 of the outer casing of the combined weight valve andjpressure gauge is a cylindrical shank portion Si of the valve part, this shank portion being of lesser diameter than that of the opening S9. Above the Wall 39 and sur-r rounding the shank portion 9| is a washer 93, of yieldable material such as rubber, this washer and the washer 31 bothV rather loosely tting such shank portion so as to be slidable relative to it. Screw-threaded Vinto the rearward end of the shank portion el is the shank 95 of a screw having a large diameter flattened head S'I which, when the valve is in the position of parts shown by Fig. 3, is in spaced relation to the washer 93. As shown,t the` screw is provided with an axial vthrough passage 99 serving as part of the passage 8| of tne valve part. At its upper side the screw is provided withi a diametrical slot I l for receiving a screw driver for turning the screw.

As shown, the extension 2l of the valve seat member at its end remote from the shank I9 is extended upwardly to form a lug |03, while the outer casing of the combined pressure relief valve and pressure Vindicating gauge is formed with ,a

pair of spaced lugs W5 and lul respectively lying at opposite sides of the lug IUS and bearing thereagainst. As shown, the lug I93 is provided with a screw-threaded perforation lS through y which is screw-'threaded the screw-threaded shank portion III of `a pin having at one end an elongated cylindrical head I I3 and at its opposite end "acylindrical extension I I5, thel head I I3 being received in a perforation I Il in the lug |05, and-theext'ension I I5 being received in a perforaition I I9 in the lug It'l. In this way the pin serves pivotally to support the combined Weight `valve and pressure indicating gauge for swinging movement in a vertical plane.

It requires considerable nicety in manufacture to insure that the frusto-conical portion 4I of the valve part d0 carried by the pivotally mounted weight will properly seat on the valve seat if the valve part is rigidly attached thereto. According to the present construction, however, the

Aclearance between the walls of the opening 89 in the bottom wall 39 of the outer casing of the weight and the shank 9| ofthe valve part 40 permitsl thev latter to move laterally relative to such casing so thatA the valve will properly seat despite inaccuracies of "manufacture and warp'- ingand wear of' parts. Further, the washer 8l, being of yieldable material, will permit requisite tilting of the valve part when necessary to` secure this same result. However, having the valve part rigidly carried by the bottom wall of the Weight is not precluded when a lessexpensive construction is desired or the facilities of the manufacturer in respect to securing extreme accuracy permit. For example, as shown by Fig.. 9, the valve part lilla may be formedl integrally with the bottom Wall 39a 'of the outer casing of the combined weight and pressure gauge, or, as shown byfFig. 10, the valve part 4I)b may be formed with' a shank 9|ID driven into the opening 89b of the casing bottom wall 39b.-

With the construction above described, by removing the wing nut 25 the valve seat member with the attachedcombined weightvalve and pressure gauge may be readily removed-from the i icbvererrtstofeasepa tely rromsthelatterwiien theico'okerris; not rini-use. Alsoi suclrremovalrfperliitstf cove-rto bei Washedior otherwise'. cleaned without-l. subjecting the! gaugelito: possibility of lcla-nia?ge? the washingoperatibm and. iurther I permits. ready replacement and=r'epair. cfg-,the

gauge. 'the valve seatl member:V and y"gauge are. saremoveu. the. gasket: yWasher ze... aitirougii `readily removable from the valve: seat-member.,

will reniai-rr" attached'. to it, thus` in effeetreduce j i liig thegnumberot part-s1 detached. from' .thercover v two, namely', the". Wingnut and; thevalvvseat member and; attached gauge .andLvalw/e, and,:in this-way niinim'izing the! possibility of :lost parts -lnistor s enf Still further, by reason; ofthe shank #Si-being, vlrotatably` received ini the: opening L1 of they.` pressure cooker cover.; the gauge; 'may bje [placed many' desired*rotativespositiozrfrelative to the cover prior to tightening the-wing nut.. In thlsllastk 4'ionriection it will vbe understood that when the cover is secured to the container'the cover is alwaysiis-substantially the saine angular 1 `position' relative to thecontainen'namely, that determined by the vertical alignment off-,the two handle extensions.. Normally;V when. the .presthe most convenient postion'for the handle ex'-l l tensions li'sthat which causes them to projecttewardl tl-lei frontV ofA the. stove, i'nwhich'- case the 'mosti convenient position for' the'. gauge isthat whichwilll enablel itd to'bel readfrom the front of j tlel stovel.:'1=lowever, when .other vessels are on the.stove` top rat-tlfie same; time) as the pressure Y 'ceoker;.-ermorethan-one: pressure cooker is on {t} and particularly when thief" pressure cooker is 'placed behindanother pressure cooker or Ytitl-11er vessel, lt is seldom convenient or4 even possible to have the handle extensions project toward the front of the. stove, and in fact the same is true with the ordinary gase stove if the pressure cooker is 'placed over one of the rearward gas burners. even if the pressure cooker is the only vessel on the stove top, for if: under such conditions the y handle extensions projected toward the front of the stove they would overlie a gas burner toward the front of thestove and be subjected to oversure4 cooker' is" theonl'y' vessel jon' Vthe` stove top,

heating or burning of the handle grips ifsuch v gas burner is ignited. In these cases by adjusting the valve seatmember into the proper rotative positionrelative to the cover, and clampingV it thereto by means of the wing nut, the gauge can readily be read from they front of the stove ,with

the handle extensions properly positioned to clear other vessels and the gas burners. In fact, positioning the gauge in any given rotative position relative -to the cover acts to insure against the handle-extensions projecting in an undesired direction'v because theoperator will automatically f turn the cooker to a position in which the gauge tion the gauge will remain until manually moved to close the valve. Heating of the contents of the cooker vents it of air through the open vvent y passage 21. When the air is substantially completely-removed, evidenced by the presence of a *l slight amount of steam escaping through the vent opening, the gauge will then be tilted by `the operator into its position shown by Fig. 3 so as such portion Ille.y

fasi-aim 116i cles'efthe vana; -vvfnen thee-'vane isitliuss. desea i i the; weight; of: thev gauge'and parte'. carry:

ing? it will-firmly fseatzfthe,valvatonthe valve seat 29. and. will` seal."the.Tjointletweernfthe valve and" therout'er 'casingfwall;v 393.2135; 'reason-Tief the latter" being supported: underthese vcondi tions: on: the yieldablef gasket wash-eiffel .carried by thevalve,.. it being .und'ersto'od'y thatfthei valve will move laterally and tiltfrelative tozfthe' as. ing,` as' above'V explained, to. secureproperseat ing: of it: oir the vvalvel seat: Seating.' ofi the'` valve. will` cause pressure -toi build upl'inf. theaicookerl :slightly tof raise:v` the cover tof cause itlto bear,

against. the lip 11.,.andt0` cause thefhoolciflzi'topf l eratively .carri'edby` the'cover',toibear: against ther lower end of the? down-turned lip I3, all without causingithei lower' portion.l8 of the' gasketfrifng tdmove outV of: contact with tliezlcontainen. against which latter: the: steamy pressure actstoizpres'e When. the cooker isi-under: pressure',fsteamipassa lng through the central bore ofthefvalveiintbritlle.

chamber19 v'villflex'thediaphragnilA upward to cause the `indicator hand toindicate` such pres;- f

sure which: pressure maybe readily held at-.any desired pointr bylcontrolling the amountofiiheat applied to the;l cooker.. reaches apredetermined valu'e',say"iteen pounds per square inch determined by the' eiiectivearea of thel valve.- exposedV to the vent.: p'assagelzrl inthe valve seat'V member., the downward-pressure-of l the Weight of the-'parts ori the valve wil'ibezovere' y come and causev those* partswto swing' upward about their pivotal connectionpitoythe'- valvef'gseat member tol open'- theva-lve and ventthexcontents of the` cooker, VWhich ventingiof course-may be donesat any.; time: by moving;I the valve: irl-toits dotted line position shown by Fig.'1. In the construction shown, as the opening B9 which receives 'the shank 9| of the'valve part 40 is of a diameter cause the outer casing v andgauge to rise to take up the clearance between the Washer 93vand the screw head 91, tightly to seat the latter on the former, before the pressure in the cooker builds up to the extent necessary to cause the valve part to be lifted from the valve seat 29.l This, however, will not affect the seating 'of the valve part I on the seat 29,' because such unbalanced pressure acts to urgel the valve toward that seat, it remaining seated after the above mentioned clearance is taken up until the pressure of the steam in the vent passage 21` exerts sufficient upward pressure on the valve and a portion of the dlaphragm correspondingtto the cross-sectional area of the passage 99 vin the screw 95, 91 to overcome the weight of the parts tending to hold the valve on its seat. This clearance need be but verysmall, sayin the order of one hundredth of an inch, so that this upwardmovement of the ,l

casing to'seat the head of the screw on the gasket Washer 93, and simultaneously move the under surface of the bottom wall 39 of the casing out of 'contact with the washer 81, occurs so rapidly that it does not result. in any appreciable escape ofy steam from the chamber 19. i

It will bef'understood that Within the scope of the vappended claims wide deviations may be made from the form ofthe invention described without departing from the spirit of the invention. a

Iclaim: l

1. A .pressure vessel having a wall provided When the pressure by said vessel for swinging movement in a vertical plane, a-part comprising a shank carrying at one, end thereof a valve having av tapered surfaceadapted to seat onsaidvalve seat, which part is formed with a. bore for admitting pressure' fluid from said vessel to said gauge when said valve is closed, said casing' being 4formed with an opening forloosely receiving said shank for permitting lateral movement of said part and valve relative to said .valve seat,-said part being formed with` an upwardlyliaeing` annular. sh-ouldergzportion beneath said bottom wall of said casing, which portion carries an annular gasket for seating on said wall for rendering the jointv betweenfsaid `part andcasing fluid tight when said valve is seated.v

2.,A'portable`pressure cooker.y comprising a container',` a cover`v for said containenjsaid container .and -cover having radially extending handles.` means for'se'curing thev cover to said container in steam tight relation thereto enforcing .the handle for the coverv to'A be in superimposed relationtoy the handle for the container and with said handles in closely spaced relation as` a single. handle for the container and attached cover,.said cover being formed with an upwardly facing openingthe. axis of which lies in a vertical Vplane that includes the klongitudinal axis of the radially extending handle' for the cover, a part-having aiscrew-threaded shank rotatably vwhereby the'two handles'when sogpositioned act .extending through fsaid opening;javentpassage extending throughsaid -shank andv'oiiening;V on the upper side .ofsaid part, Va weight including a pressure indicator havingla cooperating pointer and upwardlyl facing calibrated dial, a horizontal hinge for vsaid Weight, said p art having.l an integral lateral extension, said hinge being carried bysaidllateral extension and rotatable with said shank to enable the :positioning Yof `the axis of the hinge transverse to the longitudinal/faxis'fof said cover handle and between said handle and 1 vent passage,` a downwardly facingV valve for said vent passage carriedv by said weight,` whichvalye is formed with a rpassage for admitting pressure uid from Athe vent passage to saidpressureindica tor,.,and a nut on said shank beneath said cover for clampingsaid part to said cover in predetermined selected rotative positions relative thereto.

r WILLIAM A. WELDEN.l

REFERENCES' CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

`UNITED STATES PATENTS Date f VNurnber- VNamev Y 1,L" ,O `8,696 Jacobs Sept. 16, 1924 .1,541,073 Sohm June 9, .1925 1,585,512 Roades -May :18, 1925 1,638,032 Himmelsbach' A Aug. 9, 1927 V1,823,595 Ducroux v Sept-.g 15,1931V 2,200,903 Stephens lMay 14, 1940 2,297,378 Wittenberg Sept. 29,1942 2,459,553 Sullivan I Jan. 118,', 1949 2,513,350 Nelson 'July 4,1959 

